Spider Spotlight
A Q&A with Beth Gilkeson King
Director of Special Events, University Advancement

Beth King pays close attention to detail as she plans events for the Advancement Office. Here she checks the lower Forum a few days before the inaugural induction ceremony for the Quatrefoil Society. Photo: Chris Ijams

BY LINDA EVANS
Editor, RichmondNow

Tell me about your job.
I plan all of the events for advancement, except Homecoming, alumni reunions and Family Weekend. I also organize all building dedications and donor recognition events. The most difficult event is the Scholarship Luncheon. It involves months of planning. We invite all donors and contacts, and once they r.s.v.p. that they’re coming, we contact the student scholarship recipients. Orchestrating the seating is very tedious because some students receive more than one scholarship and making sure that all the students and donors are seated together is more complicated than you would think.

With the building dedications, it is nice to make the event unique to the donor and appropriate for the type of programming that will take place in the new building. I try to make all the ceremonies different and special in their own way.

Who do you interact with on campus to make the events successful?
In our office, I work with Laurel Hayward, director of donor relations and stewardship. I also work with Carla Shriner in University Services and Susanne Starcher in Catering. I absolutely could not do my job without them. They can anticipate what I need and always have wonderful suggestions when challenges arise. It takes the cooperation of so many departments on campus to execute an event. For example, I also interact with University Police for  parking and security, University Services for  all the set-ups, the Print Shop for signage, etc. I consider myself very  fortunate to partner with such wonderful  colleagues.

How long have you been at the University?
I came to the University in January 2005.

Tell me about your educational and professional background.
I have a B.A. in math from Sweet Briar College. There are actually quite a few similarities between math and event planning. If you’re working on a math equation and you get the smallest little detail wrong, you won’t get the right answer. And the same holds true for events. If you miss the smallest detail, the outcome is not going to be quite right.

Two days after graduation, I began interning for a trade association in D.C. and helped the conference planner there. A year and a half later, she moved, and I took over her position. After I got married, I worked in donor relations for the Virginia Engineering Foundation at U.Va., and later, for Monticello. While it was a wonderful experience to be wandering through the halls of Monticello late at night after an event, the position involved lots of nights and weekends.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?
The Scholarship Luncheon is the most rewarding event. It requires the most work, but when you see the connection between the student and the scholarship donor, it’s just sort of magical. It makes all the work worthwhile because it means so much to the donors.

Tell me about your family.
My husband John is a systems administrator and completed his first Marathon last November. He’s from a small town southwest of Richmond, and I’m from all over Virginia. We moved a lot when I was a child, but we’ve been in Richmond since I started at UR. I actually met him in third grade, but we didn’t start dating until six years after college.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
Although I don’t get to do it nearly often enough, I enjoy horseback riding. My folks have a home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and I love to hike in the Tetons. Between my husband and me, we have 12 nieces and nephews, so keeping up our “favorite aunt and uncle” status is a full-time job!